One of the broadcast audio descriptions for this week’s PGA Championship match at Valhalla will be familiar.
It will be an informed voice, a respected voice, a comfortable voice.
Dottie Pepper’s voice coming from inside the ropes at PGA Tour events has been almost as much a part of CBS’ golf coverage as Jim Nantz’s presence, and that’s the highest compliment she can be given.
Her voice blends beautifully into the broadcast and is empathetic and authoritative.
Pepper, who has 17 wins on the LPGA Tour, including two majors, has found success in what was once a very man’s world.
She’s done it so well that no one sees her as the woman explaining the strategies of the men on the PGA Tour. She’s simply seen as a sharp, knowledgeable analyst who’s been there and done it and understands what’s going on in the players’ minds.
Pepper, who began his broadcasting career in 2004 as Golf Channel’s LPGA lead analyst, has been with CBS as an on-course reporter since 2016 and was named lead on-course reporter in 2020, meaning Follow the Leaders. . .
“I knew just by having her presence and her professionalism, we would immediately be upgraded to a higher level as a team,” Nantz said. “I don’t think people think of her as a woman on a men’s broadcast. She’s very well-respected. She’s always walking down the fairway with her finishing combination. People are chanting her name.
“No one thinks about groundbreaking and pioneering anymore. People only think of her as a great announcer. I know the players have nothing but the ultimate respect for her. She knows all of them, the caddies, the coaches, the players, they’re honored to have her in front of them.”
What Pepper does inside the ropes with a microphone is as rare a gift as the one that helped her win every tournament as a player.
“She works harder than anyone,” Nantz said. “She has a great sense of timing and is very empathetic to voice when things don’t go well. She knows how to reflect on situations: the ups and downs, the triumphs and tragedies. She makes mistakes. You can feel the moment and give that feeling to the viewer.”
Many years ago, at the LPGA Championship, when Pepper was at the peak of her career, Nantz introduced himself to her as she walked around the practice range, talking to players and gathering material for broadcasts. I remember being nervous about doing it.
“To be honest, I was a little scared and probably intimidated to approach her, but I did it,” he said. “She couldn’t have been more kind. We were in the middle of a warm-up session before a major, and she was just super. I can’t go into detail about what she said to me at the time, but… , she knew what I wanted.”
Pepper laughed at Nantz’s memories when they were told to her.
“I was hoping for a plan B, but as time went on I realized it would be really cool to be a broadcaster,” Pepper said. “I was thinking about local sports. I would have been very happy if I could have local sports in the area where I live in the metropolitan area. [near Albany, N.Y.]”
Of course, she did better than that.
Judy Rankin, a 26-time winner on the LPGA Tour and a pioneer for women in broadcasting, unwittingly brought Pepper into the second act of her career.
Rankin told producers, as the 1999 U.S. Women’s Amateur was held in Asheville, North Carolina, near where Pepper lived at the time. I think she will be a great resource for us on the course. ”
Pepper (whose father, Don, plays for the Detroit Tigers) was still in the early stages of his playing career, but the LPGA was off that week.
This week is the championship. AP
“They took her in. I’ve claimed many times that I was credited with putting Dottie Pepper on TV,” Rankin said. “She understood that from the beginning. She has a very organized mind.”
Pepper is forever grateful for Rankin’s foresight.
“I had won a major championship earlier that season, so I had no intention of going into broadcasting at that point. I was still playing golf,” Pepper recalls. “But she thought it was a good opportunity. I had always wanted to be in this job, but at the time it wasn’t at the forefront of what I was looking for.
“But we believe there was a greater force, and this is a good time to start thinking about that.”
Pepper, too, is forever grateful to Rankin for paving the way for her and other women in broadcasting.
“If Judy hadn’t done the work that she did, there wouldn’t have been that opportunity for me and other people who have gone into broadcasting as women. I’m not just talking about golf. ” Pepper said. “She truly transcended golf. If Judy Rankin wasn’t as good as she is, none of us would have had this opportunity.”
To Pepper’s credit, she took a chance and became as elite in her field as she was as a player.
“One of the biggest pieces of advice I got from one of my producers a long time ago was, ‘I want your perspective as a golfer, not as a woman,'” Rankin said. Something that Dottie does very well. ”
